Full Version - The Water for Food Institute - University of Nebraska

12
Paths to Solutions
Executive Summary
Do we have the technologies to solve the global
food and water challenge?
What is the greatest barrier to food security in
developing countries?
John Briscoe of Harvard University posed these
and other questions to the audience during a panel
discussion with industry leaders at the third annual
global Water for Food Conference. Of those
who responded, 75 percent think the technology
to solve the food and water challenge is already
available or will be in the next decade, and
88 percent believe the greatest barrier to food
security is lack of institutional capacity.
Hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for
Food Institute at the University of Nebraska
(NU) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
the 2011 conference – Paths to Solutions –
brought together more than 450 experts from
universities, the private sector, governments and
nongovernmental organizations around the world
to discuss potential solutions for managing and
using our water resources to feed an increasingly
hungry and thirsty world.
While improving technology remains critical, the
need to address institutional capacity and engage
decision-makers played a prominent role in this
year’s conference. “The perception is we have
quite a bit on the technology side … but how can
we walk on two legs?” Briscoe asked. “How
can we get the institutional framework and the
technologies working together more effectively?”
Plenary Presentations
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation considers
securing water for food one of the greatest
challenges of this century, said CEO Jeff Raikes.
He led the keynote discussion with Kebede Ayele,
Ethiopian country director of International
Development Enterprises (IDE), and Soumen
Biswas, executive director of Professional
Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN)
in India. Each discussed his organization’s efforts
to lift poor, rural farmers out of poverty.
Ayele said irrigation and market access are key
components to raising incomes. IDE develops
simple, affordable household irrigation systems
and helps connect farmers to profitable markets.
He stressed the importance of viewing farmers
as customers, not beneficiaries. “If they get the
opportunity, the right opportunity, they can lift
themselves out of poverty very quickly.”
Biswas added that because many farmers believe
they lack the skills they need to adopt technology
and access markets, altering farmers’ self-view
through social mobilization also is critical.
PRADAN organizes support groups through which
participants educate themselves, slowly build
confidence and take on increasingly complex tasks.
Matthew Masin/Flickr
Indian woman carrying fodder
Raikes said, “We think technology is the
magic answer but, in fact, it requires social
mobilization, a change in mindset. It requires
education to understand the financial benefits
of the investments.”